Senator PASTORE. In other words, the point that I am trying to raise here: Do our business interests in this country fully understand and have they been fully told of the functions of this Export-Import Bank to the extent that they can clear these matters up without a great deal of redtape?

Mr. WAUGH. Senator, I can just say this, that in the last 4 years we have traveled from Los Anegles to Boston and Seattle to Miami, and we have discussed the business of the Export-Import Bank with world trade groups, with exporter groups, with foreign trade bankers, and I will also say that despite all of the work that has been done there is still a great deal of misunderstanding as to the operation of the bank, both within the administration and outside the administration.

Senator PASTORE. And are you people proposing to do anything about it?

Mr. WAUGH. We are doing everything we can humanly possible with the staff we have and the facilities we have, and the facts of the matter are, I think that the tremendous increase that we have had in the business over the 5 years, as compared to the previous 5 years, is the best answer to the case that we are making progress.

Senator PASTORE. Well, now don't misunderstand us, Mr. Waugh. We are not here to criticize.

Mr. WAUGH. I am not.

Senator PASTORE. Nor to investigate agencies. What we are trying to do here is develop a greater export business on the part of the United States of America. If that isn't being done, we would like to have concrete answers. In other words, if your facilities are not being utilized to their full optimum potentiality, then we would like to know why, and if there is anything we can do to help that along. That is the reason we are here. We are not here to turn you inside out. We are here to get some answers in order to help this situation.

Mr. WAUGH. Senator, I did not take your comment in any way, shape or form being critical. I am sure we are working for a common objective.

Senator PASTORE. That is right.

Mr. WAUGH. That is what we have been trying to do in the ExportImport Bank. We are trying to demonstrate what we have done with the facilities we have and to clear up some misunderstandings as to the operations, both as to volume and type.

Senator PASTORE. All right, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. I would like to ask that you put in the record for the last year the dates of applications of loans that have been requested, the dates that you have either granted a loan or denied it.

(The following was subsequently received from the Export-Import Bank for the record:)

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF WASHINGTON

Schedule showing time intervals in handling exporter credit applications received Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 1959

Schedule showing time intervals in handling exporter credit applications received Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 1959-Continued

Schedule showing time intervals in handling exporter credit applications received Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 1959-Continued

Senator MONRONEY. I hold here a letter from an exporter in which the loan was declined. He makes no objection to the declining of the loan. He said it was perfectly within the ability of the Export-Import Bank to do. But the loan was applied for on August 16, 1959, and it was finally denied on April 4, 1960. It was for about $3,164,569, an application for financing purchase of textile machinery from the Consolidated Textile Mills. It certainly seems to me that you could have reached a decision to tell him he could either have the money or not in a shorter length of time than that. This is what the exporters have

given to the staff. They grant you the right to turn them down, but they don't want to be denied seeking other financing while they are waiting for bank action.

Mr. WAUGH. May I ask just one question? The country to which this equipment was to be shipped?

Senator MONRONEY. The Philippines.

Mr. WAUGH. Yes. I would like to use this as a concrete case. In the Philippines we received some $50 million of applications for the sale of textile machinery. We realized that $50 million for the sale of textile machinery was disproportionate. So what we did was to employ a textile expert at our expense to make a study of the Philippine textile problem. After that, we sent the assistant manager of our own department to the Philippines. He spent 2 weeks with the technical men in the Embassy at the Philippines studying the entire textile problem.

As a result of the studies that were made, we were able to reduce the applications, because of the fact that we felt that $50 million was far more than the Philippines should have to make a well-balanced textile industry.

We have made several millions of dollars loans to the textile industry in the Philippines. A number of loans, and different companies received different amounts in connection with the applications applied for.

Now, the fact of the matter is the delay in the handling of this application was due to the fact we were trying to work out for this textile man, who I do not know personally, and all of the other textile salesmen in this country, manufacturers in this country rather than salesmen, a concrete, sensible plan for the selling of textile machinery to the Philippines that would give them a balanced industry, and at the same time would not overload them with dollar repayments.

Now, frankly, we were trying to help this man. It is always simple to say "No," to start with. We were trying to help this man. I do not know whether he received a portion of this financing or not. But there were at least a dozen or more textile manufacturers in this country that received orders from the overall study of the picture.

I am rather proud of the study we made, and I would be glad to give to you in concrete form as to how it was developed, how we passed on it, and it does take time to do that, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. I am sure it does. But in the meantime this gentleman here has said the applicant has already received confirmation from Switzerland that they will provide the necessary financing for this project. So you are not operating in a vacuum as you delay this. If you are going to turn the loan down, I think you are to be complimented, if you don't think it is a good loan. But I don't think that these exporters who seek to do business with us should have to wait 6 months for a final answer.

Mr. WAUGH. I would like to read you the letters that we have received from the textile business of this country as a result of the comprehensive study that our bank made on the textile sales that were made to the Philippines, which, as you know and I know, has a limited dollar repayment ability.

Senator MONRONEY. That is right.